Ironman California cancelled due to “deteriorating” weather conditions
Extreme rainfall and high winds force cancellation of Ironman California
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Ironman California Facebook
The much anticipated showdown between Lionel Sanders, Jan Frodeno and Gustav Iden will have to wait for a bit – severe rain storms in Sacramento, California initially caused Ironman to shorten the bike to just 90 km, but this morning things have got worse, forcing Ironman to “cancel” the event.
“We regret to inform you that the 2021 Ironman California triathlon cannot take place today on Oct. 24, 2021,” Ironman posted in a message on the Ironman California Facebook page. “Weather conditions have deteriorated overnight and weather condition(s) are expected to worsen over the course of the day. We no longer believe that we can provide an acceptably safe swim and bike environment for our athletes. We recognize that the change at this late juncture will come as a disappointment and are working diligently to provide you with further details and racing options.”
“The safety of the athletes, volunteers, and spectators is our highest priority,” Ironman wrote in a release sent out this morning. “It would not be responsible to host the event at this moment in time.”
Today’s race was to feature the much anticipated duel between Jan Frodeno, the reigning Ironman world champion and Gustav Iden, the reigning Ironman 70.3 world champion, who was to make his debut over the full distance. Canada’s Lionel Sanders announced a few weeks before the race that he would also be taking part, setting up a highly anticipated day of racing for triathlon fans around the world.
Today’s race at Ironman California was a men’s only pro race. The pro women are slated to compete at Ironman Florida in two weeks. Whether or not we’ll see Frodeno and Iden compete at another race remains to be seen – in an Instagram post yesterday Frodeno said that he’d been dealing with a chest infection leading into the race and had only just got the OK from a doctor to be able to compete. In a post from this morning Frodeno praised organizers for “doing a great job” and acknowledging that it was a tough call for them.
